U.S. State Court and Australian Court to sign cooperation agreement

U.S. State Court and Australian Court to sign cooperation agreement

2010-10-28 22:11:25 GMT+7 (ICT)

NEW YORK (BNO NEWS) – A U.S. State Court and an Australian Court on Thursday will be signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish a system for reciprocal cooperation and consultation between their respective judicial systems.

Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman and Chief Justice James Spigelman of the Supreme Court of New South Wales (NSW) the MOU, which is believed to be the first agreement of its kind ever entered into between a court system of the United States and the court system of a foreign country.

Under the MOU, if the parties consent, a substantial legal issue arising in a matter pending before the Supreme Court of NSW which involves the law of New York State can now be determined with the assistance of judges from New York (and vice versa).

"Both New York and Sydney are commercial and trading cities with a global perspective. This MOU formalizes our conviction of the value of also 'trading' judicial expertise for our mutual benefit and to advance the administration of justice internationally," Chief Judge Lippman and Chief Justice Spigelman said in a joint statement.

In New York, Chief Judge Lippman will establish a panel of five volunteer judges who will be available to offer responses to substantial questions of New York law referred by the Supreme Court of NSW.

These judges will serve as referees and work collegially in three-member panels to jointly answer questions of law referred by the Supreme Court of NSW, which will have the discretion to adopt, modify, or reject the referees’ report in whole or in part.

The Supreme Court of NSW will provide similar assistance on a reciprocal basis with regard to questions of Australian law.

The MOU is the second of its kind entered into by the NSW Supreme Court and mirrors the MOU entered into by the Supreme Courts of Singapore and NSW in June.

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